Ever wondered who was getting rich - and how - during the time when the property market was booming and banks were offering mortgages to anyone who wanted one? Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz were certainly among them. The Tchenguiz brothers, who have built up a property empire that includes Peverel, the UK’s biggest residential management agents, were arrested this morning as part of an investigation into the collapse of Kaupthing, the Icelandic investment bank.
The two brothers borrowed heavily from Kaupthing and other Icelandic banks such as Landsbanki and the administrators of the banks are suing them in the hope of clawing back some cash. The brothers, who had planned to go to Cannes for the annual Mipim property conference this week, were taken to a central London police station and questioned.
This is not the first time they have run in to trouble, however. Peverel, which is also Britain’s biggest manager of retirement homes, has been embroiled in several leasehold tribunals in recent years, some of which have ruled in favour of the tenants. Homeowners claimed they were being forced to pay high management fees - often £2,000 a year or more - for services that were not being completed, such as garden maintenance.
Many homeowners will feel a very personal sense of satisfaction if those whose behaviour contributed to a global housing collapse are finally forced to pay.
Read more about the Tchenguiz arrest here.